OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF BRECKSVILLE UNITED METHODIST CHURCHWHAT’S INSIDE...
LEARN MORE AT WWW.BRECKSVILLEUMC.COMFor months now, I’ve been talking
about this “holy disturbance”: how
God is doing a new thing in the
midst of upheaval. Because our God
is in the business of transformation,
making things new, and rebirth, we
are not called to stay the same, but
grow with God. However, I have
failed to acknowledge an important
part of the transformation process:
recognizing that we need to let go of
the “old,” because it was harmful to
us or does not serve us anymore—
we’ve outgrown it.
As a general rule, as humans, we
don’t like to recognize that the
“old” isn’t serving us anymore,
because the assumption is that that
means we were “wrong” or “not
good enough.” On the contrary,
whatever is being left behind or
made new was good and helpful at
AUGUST 2020, ISSUE 8 VOL. 10THE DAYS BETWEEN SUNDAYS
Drive In Communion Back-To-School Backpack Drive VBS Was a Virtual Successone time, but now, as we continue
to grow as disciples and in our
understanding of God, we must
shed what doesn’t “fit” anymore so
we can continue to grow. The
cocoon is integral to the growth
and transformation of a caterpillar
into a butterfly, but at some point,
it must break free in order to
become what God has created it to
be.
It’s no secret that the Church (not
just Brecksville UMC, but the
greater “Church”) is changing. And
really, it’s been changing for years
and decades. It’s been increasingly
difficult to get people to attend
worship services on Sunday
mornings: travel sports, weekends
away, the death of cultural
Christianity, and increased mobility
means worship attendance has flat-lined or decreased. Yet, we (the
Church) have insisted that Sunday
mornings are the most important,
and in order to be a part of the
church, you must come to the
church building on Sundays.
But COVID-19 forced us out of that
cocoon.
We have recognized that we can
worship from anywhere. AND that
the most important thing about
being the church doesn’t happen on
Sunday mornings, but in the days
between Sundays. We’ve seen that
we can reach people who do not live
in the same geographical area as we
do, and that they can become an
active part of our church community
through online bible studies and
worship.Continued on next page...